Bamtori Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Would in the if clause // willingness of wish
Hi,
Would anyone explain why 'will' or 'would' is sometimes used in the if clause. I've been reading some explanations about it, and found that it expresses the idea of 'willingness' 'obstinate persistence' or 'wish'. I get the first two, but not the 'wish' part. It says that when 'would' is used before the verbs 'like', 'prefer', or 'care', it expresses the idea of wish. The verb 'like' already means 'want' or 'wish', so the expression 'would like to' means 'wish to want'? So "if you would like to come with me, I'll show you." means 'If you wish to want to come with me."?
Also there were other explanations, 'willingness of wish'. Please help me with this. I would very much appreciate it!
Would anyone explain why 'will' or 'would' is sometimes used in the if clause. I've been reading some explanations about it, and found that it expresses the idea of 'willingness' 'obstinate persistence' or 'wish'. I get the first two, but not the 'wish' part. It says that when 'would' is used before the verbs 'like', 'prefer', or 'care', it expresses the idea of wish. The verb 'like' already means 'want' or 'wish', so the expression 'would like to' means 'wish to want'? So "if you would like to come with me, I'll show you." means 'If you wish to want to come with me."?
Also there were other explanations, 'willingness of wish'. Please help me with this. I would very much appreciate it!
Top answer
I think "would" in this case, is a form of politeness.
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Bamtoriwhen 'would' is used before the verbs 'like', 'prefer', or 'care', it expresses the idea of wish.This means that the following equivalents apply:
would like = wish
would prefer = wish
would care = wish
Therefore,
If you would like to come with me, I'll show you.
=
If you wish to come with me,
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Would anyone explain why 'will' or 'would' is sometimes used in the if clause. These modal verbs are used in the if-clause when making polite requests.
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